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Bunta Sugawara
]] 菅原文太 at www.allcinema.net. Retrieved 2011-02-28. is a Japanese actor. He began his film career with Shintōhō studios during the last two years before its bankruptcy in 1961. After being a star in this studio's exploitation films, his career stalled at Shōchiku, where he acted until he moved to Toei in 1967. At Toei, Sugawara became closely associated with the yakuza genre. His most notable roles were in the films of Kinji Fukasaku, particularly the five films in Fukasaku's Battles Without Honor or Humanity or ''The Yakuza Papers'' series. Sugawara's rise to prominence in the yakuza films came just as that genre had begun to lose popularity, in the mid-1970s. Sugawara successfully varied his roles, including starring in the popular ''Truck Yarō'' series, consisting of ten comedies between 1975 and 1979. He has remained active in film, though more particular in selecting projects in which he will participate. Significant later roles for Sugawara include the films The Man Who Shot the Don (1994) and My Grandpa (2003). His career recognitions include Best Actor at the Kinema Junpo Awards (1974), Blue Ribbon Awards (1976) and Hochi Film Awards (1990), and Best Supporting Actor at the Japanese Academy Awards (1980) and Nikkan Sports Film Awards (2003). Biography Early years Bunta Sugawara was born in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, capital of Miyagi Prefecture, on August 16, 1933. His parents divorced when he was four, and Sugawara moved to Tokyo with his father, an artist. He grew up believing his step-mother was his actual mother, and the truth came as a shock to him in early adolescence.Schilling, The Yakuza Movie Book, p. 130. As part of a wartime government program to locate children away from major cities, Sugawara was sent back to Sendai where he finished his elementary schooling. After the war, Sugawara was reunited with his step-mother. Their relationship became strained at this time. Sugawara took an evening prep course at Waseda University's law school and did manual labor jobs by day. Due to inability to pay the fees, he was dropped from the school in his second year. He continued taking various jobs to make a living, and began drinking heavily at this time. In 1956 Sugawara found his first regular job, as a model. Shintōhō and Shōchiku After two years working as a model, Sugawara was hired by Shintōhō, where he made his film debut in director Teruo Ishii's White Line (1958).Schilling, The Yakuza Movie Book, p. 131. The studio promoted him as one of its "Three Towers", along with Tatsuo Terashima and Teruo Yoshida. Shintōhō, at this late period in its existence, was under leadership of exploitation mogul Mitsugu Ōkura, and Sugawara began receiving top billing in such fare as The Bloody Sword of the 99th Virgin and Girl Diver of Spook Mansion (both 1959). Sugawara reminisces that, while these films are not well known today, he was lucky to have been employed by Shintōhō, where he could so quickly become a lead actor.Schilling, Mark (2003). "Interview with Bunta Sugawara" from The Japan Times, archived at Nihon Cine Art (2010-10-27). His star status at Shintōhō came to a halt in 1961 with the studio's bankruptcy. Sugawara moved to Shōchiku. A more reputable studio than the late-era Shintōhō, Sugawara nevertheless considers his stay at Shōchiku to have been unlucky for his career. His drinking habits led to his firing from Masahiro Shinoda's Shamisen and Motorcycle (1961) when he showed up late. Ironically, a hangover is said to have given his eyes a unique look which added to his performance in director Keinosuke Kinoshita's The Legend of a Desperate Struggle (1963). Though Kinoshita was pleased with Sugawara's contribution to the film, it was not a financial success. While at Shōchiku, in 1965, Sugawara met former yakuza boss Noboru Andō on the set of , a film starring Andō based on his own experiences. The film, in which Sugawara played the role of a member of Andō's gang, made Andō a star, and he made several more films before moving to Toei studio in 1967. Sugawara's career was still stagnant at Shōchiku, and Andō helped him move to Toei studio the same year. Toei Sugawara's debut film at Toei was a reunion with director Teruo Ishii in Ishii's last entry in the highly popular [[Abashiri Prison series|''Abashiri Prison series]], Abashiri Prison: Battle in a Blizzard (1967). His supporting role as one of gang boss Tomisaburō Wakayama's followers in Kōsaku Yamashita's garnered positive attention and led to more prominent billing.Schilling, The Yakuza Movie Book, p. 143. Sugawara's first starring role since the Shintōhō days came with the first film in the Gendai Yakuza series, director Yasuo Furuhata's The Code of an Outlaw (Gendai yakuza: Yotamono no okite; 1969). Sugawara remained with the series until the final episode, Kinji Fukasaku's , released to English audiences as Street Mobster (1972). The most successful of the Gendai yakuza films, it established Sugawara as the new face of the cinematic yakuza, as well as pairing him with Fukasaku. Sugawara starred in the five films of Fukasaku's ground-breaking Battles without Honor and Humanity, or ''The Yakuza Papers'' released between 1973 and 1974. Sugawara's night habits, frequenting drinking establishments in entertainment quarters such as Shinjuku and Shibuya, had put him in contact with yakuza life. He therefore based his cinematic characterizations of gangsters on these real-life encounters, creating a different style than the more stage-based performances of older yakuza film actors such as Ken Takakura. Sugawara's performance in the Yakuza Papers films earned him the Best Actor prize at the Kinema Junpo Awards."Awards for Bunta Sugawara" at IMDb. Though Sugawara had become strongly associated with the yakuza genre, this style of film fell out of popularity in the later 1970s. Sugawara successfully moved into the comedy genre with the [[Truck Yarō series|''Truck Yarō'' or Fireball on the Highway films]] (1975-1979). He was named Best Actor, in a tie with Shin Saburi, at the Blue Ribbon Awards for his role in this series. In later years his roles have been diverse, including a stereotype-reversal role as a police detective in Kazuhiko Hasegawa's The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979), for which he won a Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Nevertheless, he continued to appear in gangster films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including The Man Who Shot the Don (1994), which Toei touted as their last yakuza film. In a 2003 interview, he expressed a pessimistic view of contemporary Japanese cinema, which he saw as mostly re-makes and V-Cinema. He noted that the decreased quantity of theatrical films being made meant that it was less likely any quality films could be made. He had become selective in his roles, joking that he had become "lazy", but noting that he would appear in films which interested him. In 2003 he played an old ex-convict in Yōichi Higashi's My Grandpa, a role for which he was named Best Supporting Actor at the Nikkan Sports Film Awards. Partial filmography * 1959-07-04 Girl Diver of Spook Mansion * 1959-09-12 The Bloody Sword of the 99th Virgin * 1963-12-24 Iro boke yoku boke monogatari * 1968-03-05 The Fast Liver * 1968-07-12 The Cursed Pond * 1968-08-27 Brothers' Code: The Back Relation * 1968-09-18 The Bad Soldier * 1968-11-22 Red Peony Gambler: Gambler's Obligation * 1969-02-01 Modern Yakuza: Law of the Shameless * 1969-05-31 Modern Yakuza: Shameless Obligation * 1969-11-08 Kantō tekiya ikka * 1970-03-05 Kantō tekiya ikka: Kenka jingi * 1970-04-10 New Fraternal Honor * 1970-05-01 Kantō tekiya ikka: Tennōji no kettō * 1970-10-29 The Last Glory * 1971-02-13 Kantō tekiya ikka: Goromen himatsuri * 1971-04-03 Modern Yakuza: Returning the Offering Cup * 1971-09-07 The Kanto Brothers' Code of Honor * 1971-11-19 Modern Yakuza: Bloody Cherry Blossom's Three Brothers * 1971-12-17 Kantō tekiya ikka: Enko no daimon * 1972-03-04 Cherry Blossom Fire Gang * 1972-05-06 Street Mobster * 1972-06-21 Kogarashi Monjirō * 1972-09-14 Kogarashi Monjirō: Kakawari gozansen * 1972-11-21 The Red Silk Gambler * 1973-01-13 The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity * 1973-04-28 The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 2: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima * 1973-09-25 The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 3: Proxy War * 1974-01-05 The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 4: Police Tactics * 1974-06-29 The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 5: Final Episode * 1974-09-14 Father of the Kamikaze * 1974-10-05 Jitsuroku hishakaku: Ōkami domo no jingi * 1974-12-28 New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 1 * 1975-10-14 International Gangs of Kobe * 1975-11-01 New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Boss's Head * 1976-04-24 New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 3: Boss's Last Days * 1979-10-27 Star of David: Beauty Hunting * 1984-11-17 Shura no mure * 2001-07-27 Spirited Away (voice) * 2003-04-05 My Grandpa * 2005-08-06 The Great Yokai War Awards * 1974 Kinema Junpo Awards: Best Actor for Battles Without Honour and Humanity (The Yakuza Papers) * 1976 Blue Ribbon Awards: Best Actor for Kenkei tai soshiki boryoku, Torakku yarō: Goiken muyō, and Torakku yarō: Bakusō ichiban hoshi (Tied with Shin Saburi) * 1980 Japanese Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for The Man Who Stole the Sun * 1990 Hochi Film Awards: Best Actor Tekken * 2003 Nikkan Sports Film Awards: Best Supporting Actor for My Grandpa Bibliography * * Schilling, Mark (2003). "Bunta Sugawara (1933-)" with December 2002 interview, in The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 130-143. ISBN 1-880656-76-0. * Schilling, Mark (2003). "Interview with Bunta Sugawara" from The Japan Times, archived at Nihon Cine Art (2010-10-27). * * 菅原文太 at www.allcinema.net * 菅原文太 at Kinema Jumpo Notes Category:1933 Births Category:Actor